Et Tu, Junior? (Contd.)

When 14-year-old James H. Gronen of Boulder, Colo., was disqualified two weeks ago for rigging his car with a secret electromagnet to win the 1973 All-American Soap Box Derby, it seemed that he was a boy whose all-American ingenuity was exceeded only by his guile. Now it turns out that his uncle and legal guardian, Robert Lange, founder of a ski-equipment firm called the Lange Co., taught him all he knew. In a letter to the derby director in Boulder, Lange said not only that the magnetic nose "has been around for years" but that he had to urge it on his nephew because so many others were cheating too. "Anyone participating in derby races with eyes and ears open would soon learn, as I did, that rules have been consistently and notoriously violated by some participants without censure or disqualification."

Officially approved axles have frequently been altered, said Lange, and trim has been added for the sake of ballast. The customary limit on construction costs is $75, but Lange once had an offer from a professional car builder at $2,500. As for the rule that the boys must build their own cars, Lange said, "It is common knowledge that it is next to impossible for any eleven-year-old boy or girl to build a racer that can win."

Some of these charges might be true, said Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter, but he added: "The letter just floors me. It's impossible for me to understand how a man can say, 'I suggested it, I accept the responsibility, the reason I did it was that it was the only way the boy could win.' " Hunter has filed charges against Lange in juvenile court for encouraging a youngster to violate the law. Possible penalty: one year in prison or a $ 1,000 fine or both.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.